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Red Quinoa and Butternut Squash Salad

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

While I love making sandwiches for lunch, every once in a while I find myself looking for something a little more interesting.  I’m also always looking for dishes that are multipurpose – where it works as a side, a full meal or a simple lunch.  I definitely had lunch envy the other day when a colleague was taking out her amazing looking quinoa salad, and it occurred to me that it’s been forever since I made any quinoa salads (minus the most recent disaster when an entire quinoa salad went flying out of my refrigerator and crashing.)

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Anyways, I came across this delicious recipe from someone who apparently also seeks to defeat the “sad desk lunch” — who knew that there’s apparently an entire website devoted to sad desk lunches?  There’s a whole universe of delicious, easily packable lunches – so why are so many people suffering?

But I digress, the point is that I made this salad once, and then had it as a side with salmon, for lunch with some sliced chicken, and again for dinner with sliced chicken (I could have even just thrown an egg on it.)  The pomegranate seeds add a bit of colorful flair (take that sad desk lunches!) and the arugula tossed in adds even more color and crunch to an already colorful dish that just begs to be photographed.

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups butternut squash, cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 4 teaspoons, extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¾ cup uncooked red quinoa
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon good quality maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • Salt
  • 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
  • 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
  • 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
  • 3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
  • Handful of arugula (optional)

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Place the cubed butternut squash on a baking sheet or in a baking pan. Drizzle with two teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Toss to coat. Roast your butternut squash for 30 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes, until it is very tender.
  3. While your squash is roasting, cook red quinoa according to package directions (I find this is generally a 1 cup of quinoa to 1.5 cups of water or broth if you choose to use that instead). When cooked, transfer it to a large bowl to cool slightly.
  4. In a small bowl, combine the minced shallots, remaining two teaspoons olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Season with salt to taste and set your dressing aside until ready to use.
  5. Toast walnuts in a small pan over medium-high heat.  Just make sure to watch that it doesn’t get too toasty crisp! Remove from the pan and set aside.
  6. Add your roasted butternut squash, toasted walnuts, pomegranate arils, arugula, parsley and crumbled feta cheese to the bowl with your cooked red quinoa. Pour the dressing over your salad and gently toss to coat. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Adapted from Domesticate-me Red Quinoa and Butternut Squash Salad.

Italian Wedding Soup

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

Italian wedding soup

All of us need a little comfort from time to time – a lost game, a blown test, a broken heart or simply just not feeling well. To my mind and that of millions of mothers everywhere, nothing soothes better than a bowl of good chicken soup. And so many cuisines have their version – Chinese wonton, Jewish chicken soup with kneidlach, Greek avogolemono and many more. Frances was under the weather with a case of bronchitis when she came for Thanksgiving and fortunately I had just made a big pot of Italian wedding soup – the Italian version of a great chicken soup. While, of course, it is best if you make your own chicken stock, there are several good commercial brands available now and I am not above using them. This soup is at its prettiest when you first serve it and the spinach is still a bright green, but the taste is just as wonderful several days later. If you are using a commercial chicken stock, this soup can be made in under and hour. Nothing knocks out the blues or sore throats better than this – unless of course it is Wonton soup or Jewish chicken soup or …. you get the point.

Italian Wedding Soup adapted from Ina Garten

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients

For the meatballs

1 pound ground chicken (all white or a mix of white and dark)

1 pound raw chicken sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I would not use a very spicy sausage here)

2 slices of whole grain bread, crumbled

1 large egg

3 Tablespoons milk (any kind will do)

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced

2 rounded teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1/4 cup Asiago, Pecorino Romano OR Parmesan cheese, grated

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

For the soup

2 Tablespoons EVOO

2 bunches of spinach, washed and trimmed or about 16 ounces fresh baby spinach (it cooks down)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and chopped to small dice

2 to 3 stalks of celery or fennel, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

8-10 cups of good quality chicken stock, preferably unsalted

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 generous cup tubetini pasta

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Place all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. I use my hands as the best way to distribute everything evenly. Dampen your hands slightly to prevent too much sticking and form into small balls. There is no magic size here – make them the size you like, just not giant balls. Place on a baking pan lined with foil or parchment or a Silpat and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside. cooked chicken meatballs
  3. In the meantime, heat a couple of tablespoons of EVOO in a large heavy pot (about 6-7 quarts) over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, diced carrots and celery and sauté until translucent, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.
  5. Add the pasta and simmer it for about 6-8 minutes.
  6. Add the meatballs. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust your seasonings. The soup can be made ahead up to this point and refrigerated until ready to eat it. The pasta will continue to expand some so you may need to add some more chicken stock later.
  7. When ready to serve, gently reheat the soup and bring it to a simmer. Add the fresh dill and spinach and simmer for one minute. Any leftover soup will be delicious but the spinach will not retain the bright green color. If you like you can add a sprinkling of extra cheese on top when serving.

Egg in the Bread

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

Egg in the bread done

One of my all-time favorite movies is Moonstruck. Whenever I need a lift, I re-watch it and it never fails to delight me. There is a scene where the Olympia Dukakis character is making breakfast for the Cher character and it always looks so delicious to me. It’s what I call “egg in the bread” and it looks as if she serves it with roasted red peppers. For Matthew and Frances’ final breakfast before they had to leave, I made this old favorite. It’s very versatile and you could easily make a vegetarian version (which I often do) with either roasted red peppers or plum tomatoes or spinach lightly sautéed in garlic and olive oil. You could serve it with warmed ratatouille or sautéed zucchini or mushrooms. Let your imagination (and what’s in your fridge) guide you. What follows is more of a method than a strict recipe, but give it a try. I think you’ll like it.

Egg in the Bread

Ingredients

1-2  thickly-cut slice(s) of Italian, whole grain or sourdough bread for each serving

1 large egg per slice of bread

Unsalted butter and EVOO for the pan

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Herbs of choice (optional)

1 thin slice of Black Forest ham or smoked turkey (optional)

About 1 generous teaspoon freshly grated cheese of choice (Asiago, Pecorino with truffles, a good sharp cheddar etc.)

Directions

  1. Heat enough unsalted butter and EVOO in a heavy-duty skillet with a lid (cast iron is best) to cover the bottom of the pan. I would say about 1 Tablespoon of each for 2 slices of bread.
  2. While the butter and EVOO are melting, use a cookie cutter or sharp knife to cut a circle out of the center of the bread that will hold the egg. Save the cut-out piece. You will use it.
  3. When the butter/EVOO is sizzling, add the bread slices, including the circle that you cut out. Cook on medium high heat until desired brown. When the first side is the color brown you like, turn over the slices. Make sure you have enough butter/EVOO in the pan so the bread and egg won’t stick. Add more if needed. As soon as you turn over the bread, crack the egg into the hole that you created. It will sit directly on the pan. Don’t worry if some seeps under the bread. egg in the bread 4
  4. Add a sprinkling of Kosher salt, any herbs if used, the cracked black pepper and the grated cheese. Cover with the lid. Check in about 3 minutes to see if the white of the egg is almost entirely cooked, but the yolk is still soft. If using the ham or smoked turkey or vegetables, add them to the pan now. If using vegetables, I generally am starting with vegetables that have already been cooked and I am simply reheating them. Cover with the lid and cook for about 2 more minutes.
  5. Using a thin spatula, arrange on a plate and enjoy.

 

 

Mushroom Walnut Pâté

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 5 Comments

Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Shabbat, I hosted four generations of family. Our apartment was filled to over-flowing with the happy sounds of children playing and adults sighing from both joy and having eaten too much food. Matthew and Frances are returning to New York today and the house already is almost eerily quiet. Our two cats are calming down and I finally have some time to sit and write down a few thoughts.

I’m always looking for wonderful vegetarian or vegan options to go along with a main course of meat. Since Thanksgiving had turkey and Friday was short ribs I needed lots of side dishes and an hors d’oevre  to go with drinks. In searching for recipes I came across a mushroom walnut pâté that seemed both easy to make and fit my requirements of being vegan. I used to make a wonderful mushroom pâté  years ago, but since it had farmer’s cheese in it, I couldn’t use it for this crowd. Now if you don’t like mushrooms (how can you NOT like mushrooms?!) don’t bother making this. It most definitely tastes like mushrooms. Since we all love them, this was perfect. It doesn’t take a lot of ingredients and the most exotic piece of equipment that you need is a blender or food processor. Make it several hours to the day before you intend on serving it.

Mushroom Pate

Mushroom Walnut Pâté adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup minced shallots

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or Earht Balance Buttery Vegan Sticks)

3/4 pound chopped, mixed mushrooms (I used shitake, oyster and crimini)

1 Tablespoon roasted garlic cloves, smashed

i bunch chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (I happened to have lemon thyme on hand

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 Tablespoons EVOO

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread walnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toast for 10 minutes, until they are fragrant and lightly browned.
  2. In a large saute pan, cook shallots in butter or Vegan “butter” over medium heat until translicent. Then add the chopped mushrooms, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook stirring often until most of the liquid has evaporated.
  3. Process toasted walnuts and olive oil in a blender or food processor until the mixture forms a thick paste. Spoon in the cooked mushroom mixture and process to desired texture.
  4. If you want to be able to unmold the pâté then pack it into well-oiled ramekins or bowl. Otehrwise, just pack it into a pretty bowl and refrigerate it for a few hours or over-night. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving.

 

Roasted Tomato and Olive Pearl Couscous Salad

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

I love this salad so much that we generally end up eating the entire bowl shortly after making it.

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Maybe it’s just pearl couscous that does it to us, or maybe it’s the garlicky dressing, but we’ve been making this Smitten Kitchen recipe for years and have yet to grow tired of it.

Ingredients

For roasted tomatoes and dressing
2 pt red grape or cherry tomatoes (1 1/2 lb)
3 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For couscous
2 3/4 cups chicken broth (or water)
2 1/4 cups pearl (Israeli) couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped (I like to use a food processor)
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint (optional)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250 F.  Take a baking sheet and spread with olive oil, and then toss the halved tomatoes in it and spread it on the pan.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper.  When the oven is heated, cook for about one hour.

2. Bring broth to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and stir in couscous, then simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.

3. Once the couscous is done cooking, spread it on a baking sheet pan to let cool.

4. Take the garlic, 1/4 cup water, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of tomatoes, 1/4 cup of olive oil and puree until smooth in a food processor.

5.  Toss the couscous with the garlic and lemon juice dressing, olives, and tomatoes.  Add parsley if you wish and season with salt and pepper to taste.

From Smitten Kitchen.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 6 Comments

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Let’s face it, Thanksgiving is a time of indulgence. I love to bake and my family loves pie. So for Thanksgiving I always make at least three – a pumkin, pecan and some kind of apple. This is my pecan pie that started with my mother’s recipe and then I tweaked over the years. While I  never was able to come close to my mother’s apple pie, my pecan is actually better. But please don’t tell her – it’s our secret!

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Yield: One 9-inch pie

Ingredients

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust (I use the Crisco recipe)

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup dark corn syrup OR 1 cup of Golden Syrup to replace all of the corn syrup

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 slightly round Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1+ Tablespoon good Kentucky Bourbon

1 cup pecans broken up

About 1 cup pecan halves and large pieces

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Place dough in a 9-inch fluted tart pan or a 9-inch pie plate
  3. Mix all of the ingredients together except for the pecan halves and large pieces
  4. Carefully pour into the pie shell and arrange the pecan halves and large pieces over the top in an attractive random pattern
  5. Place the pie plate or tart pan on a baking pan to catch any spills and place in the oven. Bake for about 75 minutes. There should still be a slight jiggle when you carefully move the pie/tart plate. Turn off the oven and leave the pie in the oven with the door ajar for 10 minutes.
  6. Cool thouroughly on a cooling rack before cutting. This can be made a day ahead. Serve plain or with some fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Lemon Olive Oil Bread with Chocolate

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

While looking for a good olive oil bread recipe, I came across this one from Smitten Kitchen that gave guidance for how a baker could make all sorts of substitutions to end up with slightly different and delicious variations on a good olive oil bread.

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It sounded a bit like mix and match and so I had fun crossing out certain ingredients and adding others… and the result was actually quite good.  I liked the idea of using olive oil to make the bread, and I loved the idea of adding chocolate, because who doesn’t love chocolate.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup olive oil (I used lemon olive oil)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I probably could have doubled this)
2 tsp rum

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and rum and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold the chocolate chips in.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. Cool.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen lemon yogurt anything cake.

Roasted Pepper and Garlic Confit Pasta

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

When I lived in San Francisco, I kept hearing about an amazing restaurant called “Frances.”  With that name, I thought surely Frances had to go eat at “Frances” even if it wasn’t a great restaurant.  It was one of those foodie destinations where there weren’t very many tables, so between it being a small space and just being plain popular it was so difficult to get a reservation!

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I ended up leaving SF never having eaten there, but on a recent trip back, looked it up on a whim and there happened to be an opening!  Someone must have canceled at the last minute and I was so excited to finally eat there.

Anyways, my friend and I shared many, many small plates of tastiness that the chef had dreamt up, but this one dish we thought really made the whole dinner.  I tried to replicate it based on what I remembered, and it turned out preeeeetty close!  At least I don’t have to go all the way back across the country to recreate a small part of that experience!

Ingredients

1 jar of roasted peppers
1/2 lb of whole wheat pasta
garlic confit (which is basically just taking garlic cloves and simmering them in olive oil for 40 minutes – you can also just roast the garlic in the oven at about 350 F for about 30 minutes)
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
poached egg (optional)
2-3 pieces of proscuitto thinly shredded (optional)

Directions

1. On a roasting sheet, pour and spread some olive oil and then add the halved grape tomatoes.  Set the oven at about 350 F and roast the tomatoes for about 30 minutes (you can add the garlic here if you’re roasting it).

2. In a large bowl, add water and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook according to package directions.

3. In a food processor, add the roasted peppers and some olive oil and puree until fairly smooth.  Set aside.

4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add back into the pot that it was cooked in.  Add in the pureed roasted peppers and mix it through.  Add the tomatoes and garlic and salt and pepper to taste.  Top with a poached egg if you love eggs as I do, and serve immediately!

Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

butternut squash lasagna pan

I love pasta. Any pasta. But sometimes you want to get past the tomato sauce and pesto and do something different. So inspired by all of the beautiful and colorful squash that is readily available now, I came up with a lasagna filled with butternut squash, ricotta and fontina cheeses and bathed in a béchamel sauce flavored with nutmeg and sage. It may not be traditional, but it is delicious. It requires nothing more than a green salad and some good bread.

Butternut Squash Lasagna   

butternut squash lasagna plated

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Ingredients

8 ounces no-boil lasagna sheets (flat or ridged)

1 recipe béchamel sauce (see below)

2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch dice (you will probably have a bit of cooked squash left-over for another use)

15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese

2 large eggs

5 ounces aged fontina, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

nutmeg

rubbed sage

Directions   prepping butternut squash

  1. Place the diced butternut squash in a large pot and cover with about 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes or until squash is tender. I always test it by taking a sharp knife and if it easily pierces the squash and it slips off the knife then it’s done. Drain the squash.
  2. With a fork or potato masher, mash the squash, leaving some cubes and texture. Add one teaspoon of salt and some fresh cracked black pepper to taste (about 5 cracks). Do not puree. Set the squash aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta with the eggs, about 1/2 cup of the grated fontina, a scant teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage. Set the mixture aside.
  4. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
  5. Make the béchamel sauce.
  6. You are now ready for the assemby.
  7. Using a lasagna pan (about 13 x 9 x 3) ladle in about 1 cup of the béchamel sauce to cover the bottom of the pan. Then take 3 sheets of the lasagna and following the directions on the box, place one piece across the narrow end and lay two piece side by side facing the other direction. Don’t worry if there is a bit of space between. It will be fine when it cooks.
  8. Ladle enough of the sauce to cover the pasta sheets lightly. Add grated cheese to cover in a thin layer.
  9. Carefully lay on about 1.5 cups cups of the squash mixture, gently spreading it to cover. Now layer on about 1/3 of the ricotta mixture, gently spreading it over the top.
  10. Add another layer of pasta, this time alternating the end which has the single piece of pasta. Repeat Steps 8 and 9. Do this one more time.
  11. The final layer is just pasta, sauce and cheese. Sprinkle over some nutmeg and sage (Use a light hand with this.) Cover with foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
  12. After 30 minutes, uncover the lasagna and bake for another 15 minutes. If the lasagna isn’t a nice golden brown, turn on the broiler. Watch the lasagna since it can brown all of a sudden. Allow the lasagna to “rest” for 15 minutes before serving. This can be made ahead and covered with foil until you are ready to serve it. Gently reheat the lasagna in a 325 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

NOTE: While I haven’t done this, there is no reason that this shouldn’t freeze well.

Béchamel sauce adapted from Mario Batali  

Yield: 3.5 cups

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk (I actually used a mixture or 2 cups half & half and 2 cups skim milk because that was what I had)

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

Lemon Walnut Israeli Couscous

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 1 Comment

Even the best dinner intentions sometimes end in a mild catastrophe, but this always seems to be the best way to end up cooking something new and inventive.

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I was waiting for my husband to come home and had made this delicious red quinoa salad out of leftovers with sliced cucumbers and a variation of tzatziki that I had just “whipped up” and was feeling so proud of myself when…. I opened the refrigerator door too quickly and the glass bowl that contained this eclectic concoction spun out of the fridge and crashed on my floor.

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Now if you’ve never tried to clean up quinoa from a tile floor, let me tell you, it’s high on my list of “very difficult” right beneath trying to clean up a smashed jar of turmeric (but that’s a story for another day).  Anyways, the point is that now I had very little time to whip together something to replace this salad and while leafing through My Paris Kitchen, a wonderful book that Lisa gave me about a year ago, I ended up making this delicious couscous salad.

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I happened to have almost everything in my pantry (including preserved lemons), and was sooooo delicious that we could not believe we had not made it before.

Ingredients

  • 1 preserved lemon
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tbsp salted OR unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup diced dried fruit (I used dried cranberries)
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 cups Israeli couscous
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Trim the stem end from the lemon and cut it into quarters.  Scoop out the pulp and press it through a strainer into a bowl to extract the juices; discard the pulp.  Finely dice the preserved lemon rind and add it to the bowl along with the parsley, butter, dried fruit, walnuts, salt and cinnamon.
  2. Bring a pot of salted water to a bowl over high heat.  Add the couscous and cook according to the package instructions.  Drain the couscous and add it to the bowl, stirring until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are well mixed.  Season with pepper and serve.

Adapted from My Paris Kitchen, by David Lebovitz